PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bharadwaj, Prashant
AU  - Lundborg, Petter
AU  - Rooth, Dan-Olof
TI  - Birth Weight in the Long Run
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.53.1.0715-7235R
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 189--231
VI  - 53
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/53/1/189.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/53/1/189.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2018 Jan 01; 53
AB  - We study the effect of birth weight on long-run outcomes using data on Swedish twins born between 1926 and 1958 linked to administrative records spanning entire life-time labor market histories. We find that birth weight positively affects permanent income and income across large parts of the lifecycle. The timing of the birth weight–income relationship is in line with the role of birth weight in determining takeup of sickness benefits and morbidity. The effect of birth weight on labor market outcomes even for cohorts born 30 years apart are similar; for short run health outcomes, birth weight plays a decreasing role over time.